The drive from Montrose, CO (just outside of Black Canyon NP) to Cortez, CO (just outside Mesa Verde NP) is incredibly scenic and picturesque. I stopped a half dozen times along the way just to soak it in.
Main Street Telluride
The waterfall just outside downtown Telluride
A small lake along the road to Mesa Verde NP
Once I finally got there, I was super excited to check out Mesa Verde NP. I had learned about the Anasazi (new PC term - Ancient Pueblo) people in school, and had been really looking forward to checking out their cliff dwellings. I saw two dwellings - Balcony House, which supposedly was built as a lookout & defensible position, and Long House, a huge cliff dwelling with ~150 rooms and at one point ~150 inhabitants. One of the most striking features of these cliff dwellings is that they were originally only accessible by climbing. To that end, foot and hand holds were carved into the cliff face to access their dwellings, which seemed to be hundreds of feet below the top. All their food & supplies, with the exception of water, would have come this way as well. I think part of the attraction of these cliff dwellings is that they speak to my inner child - they seem like something out of Neverland! The 3 days I spent at Mesa Verde were packed and well worth it.
Balcony House and Long House - Cliff Dwellings of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples.